Aeneas Strosslink
by Kage-258
Summary: Back in 1985, the Dark Lord was still in power and the Death Eaters were searching out good witches and wizards. One of the most promising young members was Aeneas Strosslink...
1. Chapter 1

Aeneas Strosslink

Chapter 1

Edwina Yolk's Street

Strosslink Apparated around the corner from the house. He didn't want to arrive too close. Edwina Yolk was known to be a cunning old witch, and it was more than likely that she would have placed some protection spells around the area.

Strosslink whisked the note out of his pocket for the fifth time, checking that he was headed for the right address. He knew that it was number three, but he always had to make sure a dozen times before he moved in. Etched in his memory was the story of Nott, who'd broken into a house in the wrong street, thinking that two of the Prewetts were hiding out there. It had been an enormous embarrassment for him.

An unfamiliar noise made him look up. His body tensed for a few quick moments, and his hand immediately dropped into his wand pocket.

His surprise lasted only a couple of seconds, however, when Strosslink realised that it was merely Muggles, in one of those bizarre contraptions they constructed to travel around in. It was making a lot of noise. Strosslink wondered how Muggles survived in the world without magic, and almost – for a split second – felt sorry for them.

Scolding himself, Strosslink banished the thought from his mind. _Muggles were useless; every self-respecting wizard knew this. There was no reason for them to be around at all_.

Whatever their contraption was, it was hideous. Cars, he remembered, that's what Verret had called them. _Well, Verret was half Muggle, anyway_. He tried to keep it quiet, but Strosslink knew.

He waited until the car had left. Strosslink knew that none of the Muggles could see him under his Invisibility Cloak, but the noise of that awful contraption would set any wary witch or wizard onto the alert.

And Strosslink was anything but unwary. It was said that the Dark Lord himself favoured him. There were rumours that he was looking for new lieutenants, and Strosslink hoped that he was in with a chance. Well, his attributes were indeed praiseworthy. Strosslink was the main consultant with the Dementors. Most wizards and witches, even Death Eaters, were terrified of the Dementors. Negotiations were difficult, mainly because the Dementors could sense fear and knew that they had the upper hand.

But Strosslink had never felt particularly scared of Dementors. He felt that he could understand him. They were single-minded creatures with simple demands. Give them basically what they wanted, and they were content, or content as a Dementor could be.

Strosslink had long ago perfected his Patronus Charm, and also perfected the method of focussing on happy thoughts in order to call upon it. He always behaved calmly before the Dementors, and had therefore used the charm only occasionally, when the Dementors became too aggressive.

And there were rumours that the Dementors understood Strosslink in ways that they could understand few others. In him, they saw a fellow being, a creature, cold-hearted, callous, very willing to deliver pain onto others in the name of the cause. _Perhaps too willing_, some said, _perhaps he enjoys it too much_.

Strosslink checked the note again as he rounded the corner. He felt warm under the cloak.

_What self-respecting witch would live among Muggles?_ Strosslink wondered to himself. _Did she think that this would be a good place to hide? That the Death Eaters would not find her here in this place? That they could not find her anywhere?_

He felt very warm, and excited as well.

Strosslink glared down the street, expecting to see some sort of enchantment placed there to guard the house. There was none visible.

He began to walk quickly down the footpath. The he broke into a jog. This made him feel hotter under the cloak.

Number Three was no larger than the rest of the houses in the street. It looked exactly like them, actually. There was no touch of magic to be seen.

Strosslink felt burning hot. It was as if the temperature were coming right from the fabric of his Invisibility Cloak.

Then, with a scream, Strosslink threw the cloak off, long purple flames singeing his hair and his clothes as he did so.

The Cloak writhed, shrivelled up into a ball of melting silvery fabric, and with a great puff of purple smoke, burnt away into ashes.

Strosslink pulled out his wand instantly. Edwina Yolk must be around somewhere; her magic was still working. He was about to leap over the fence when a deep voice called out from behind him.

'Oi, hey, you all right there mate?' asked the Muggle man.

Strosslink spun around to face him.

'What happened?' he asked.

'_Petrificus Totalus!_' shouted Strosslink, raising his wand.

The man jerked, and fell backwards, as stiff as a tree-trunk.

Strosslink stood over him, surveying his victim. The Muggle was large, very tall and wide. He was quite heavily built, strong-looking. Well, there was not much that muscles could do against a true wizard.

_Perhaps the Muggle should see what a true wizard could do_, thought Strosslink. The Muggle's eyes were staring up at him, scared, confused.

The Death Eater pointed his wand at the paralysed figure. He paused, wondering what spell he could use. He had so many; it was difficult to choose.

Another yell broke his concentration. He looked up, and saw, about fifteen metres away, a second hideous Muggle contraption. Two Muggles dressed in sort of uniform had leapt out of the car and were standing stiffly beside it. Both of them were wielding strange-looking wands, raised and pointed directly at him.

There was a loud cracking sound from inside Number Three. Strosslink knew immediately what it was. Edwina Yolk had just Apparated into her house.

Strosslink spun around, wand at shoulder height, but there was a brief flash of a surprised-looking face and a second crack as his target Disapparated.

He'd missed his chance. Edwina Yolk was going to be twice as difficult to find now.

'Police! Drop the weapon!' came the yell again.

Strosslink had missed his mark. Now he was going to be in trouble. Well, it was those Muggles' fault he hadn't been ready. He turned back to face them.

The two Muggles in uniform yelled at him again, looking nervous. When Strosslink moved suddenly, they both jerked in surprise.

The Death Eater was quick. He invoked a protective spell upon himself, one strong enough to resist most curses.

It had no effect whatsoever.

Strosslink felt something hot and sharp hit his thigh. Then, a moment later, his shoulder. The objects pierced his skin, and he was bleeding, dark red blood. He collapsed almost instantly, his body crumpled, his wand clinking as it fell on the ground.

_Muggles don't use magic_, was Strosslink's thought, his only thought as he sunk down, down, down into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Hospital in Manchester

Strosslink felt himself return to consciousness, slowly, driftingly; awake, then back to sleep, then awake, then asleep, as if he were nervous about making the sudden leap back into the real world.

When he did finally open his eyes, he stared at his surroundings in silent wonder and fear. It was a few minutes before he could remember everything, but it was then that the true anxiety set in.

_Edwina Yolk, of Number Three; escaped, the expensive Invisibility Cloak; ruined_. Then he remembered that there was more than the mission at hand. _The Muggles, then the car and they attacked; his spell did not work, their curse somehow nullified it_.

_But where was he now? _Strosslink was confused. He could see, plainly, that he was in a hospital, but a strange hospital. There were things missing from this room that Strosslink would have expected to be there. And there were things in this room that Strosslink had never seen before and did not recognise.

_Well_, thought Strosslink, _I would prefer not to investigate this mystery further_.

He tried to sit up in his bed, but felt incredibly weak. His wrists seemed to want to stay directly where they were, as did his ankles. Then, he realised that they had been bound to the bed with some sort of metal chains.

'_Alohomora!_' he shouted at the locks. '_Alohomora!_'

The locks did not move, but the shouting made Aeneas feel somewhat dizzy, and he slumped back down into the bed.

The shouting, however, did move a Muggle that had been sitting on a chair outside the room to come inside. He too was wearing a uniform, and when he saw that Strosslink was awake, he rushed over to a small white contraption that was sitting silently on a small table. He tapped it several times, and then spoke to it.

'Doctor? The suspect has just woken up!'

There was a pause and a muffled sound seemed to be coming from the contraption. The Muggle looked somewhat abashed.

'Yes, the patient. Could you please inspect him? I'm about to call the detective.'

Strosslink stared at the Muggle.

'Who are you?' he demanded.

'I'm Officer Drodes,' replied the Muggle, looking at Strosslink suspiciously. 'And what might your name be?'

'Aeneas Strosslink. _Strosslink_, that is. Why am I chained to this bed?'

Officer Drodes scowled at him.

'You'll have to discuss that with DC Yates,' he replied after a pause.

'I demand that I be released immediately.'

'You're under arrest. DC Yates will be arriving presently.'

Officer Drodes picked up the contraption and started to tap it again.

'_Accio_ wand!' called Strosslink, hoping to catch the Muggle unprepared with a well-placed curse.

This resulted only in a very confused look from Officer Drodes. Strosslink's wand was somewhere, he knew, but he couldn't get it back again with a Summoning Charm. _Someone must have it_; he realised, and felt a little cold when he wondered what they might be doing with it.

It was then that Strosslink's immediate frustration and annoyance began to fade and be replaced by fear. He was in hospital, he didn't know where his wand was and he couldn't seem to be able to conjure up any spells to free himself.

Knowing that he could do nothing, he lay back down in the bed and closed his eyes. He knew that a calm disposition would yield a calm resolution.

'Bernie, what happened with this guy? He sounds like a nutter.'

Strosslink could hear the voice of the Muggle, Officer Drodes, just outside the room. He didn't move.

'We've got no idea, Wade, it's bizarre.' A second voice replied. 'Two officers in a cruiser spotted him standing over the victim. It's lucky they were armed, 'cause this guy's dangerous. We still can't figure out what happened to the victim, he was entirely paralysed. This guy must have drugged him, but the blood tests showed nothing.'

'Paralysed? How is the victim?'

'Well, that's just as weird as anything else. One moment, he couldn't even move a muscle to speak, then the next moment he's running around shouting about having someone appear out of thin air in his hospital room. We think it's trauma, 'cause that room was locked and had a guard outside, just like this one.'

'And this guy?'

'He did it, we just don't know how. He's a loony, anyway. You can read it straight off.'

'Yeah, I could tell that, he started shouting all sorts of made-up words at me when I went in there.'

'Well,' said a much deeper voice, 'I think that part's up to me.'

'Herman, you should know. You've seen nutters like this before.'

'Wearing some sort of medieval cloak? Speaking his own language, carrying around some sort of stick, waiting to get shot by police? And with no identification at all?'

'Yeah, that's him.'

'And did you say he was burning something?'

'Yeah, some sort of fabric, but forensics can't identify it either. It must be rare.'

'This person is quite obviously insane, but you guys just need to hear it from me.'

Strosslink could then hear footsteps and the sound of the door being unlocked. Three men entered.

'Wake up, sir,' said the second voice.

Strosslink opened his eyes.

'I'm Detective Constable Yates,' introduced the owner of the voice. 'This is Officer Drodes, from the Manchester police department.'

DC Yates nodded to the third man, the one with the deep voice.

'And this is Doctor Herman Hander. He's a psychiatrist. We of the police department have been asked to give you a psychological examination. Do you understand this?'

Strosslink nodded, though he didn't really.

The Muggle named Hander sat down on a chair next to Strosslink's head. Strosslink imagined how much he would like these animals pay for what they did to him.

'What is your full name?' asked Hander.

Strosslink puffed out his chest and tried to make himself as imposing as possible. This wasn't particularly effective, as he was lying down, but he prided himself on putting in the effort anyway.

'Aeneas Euphrosyne Amadeus Strosslink, of the House of Strosslink,' he proclaimed.

Hander looked up from his book for a moment.

'That's an interesting name. Of the House of Strosslink, did you say? Is that a title of some nobility?'

Strosslink scowled at him.

'Why of course, the Strosslinks are one of the very most noble and ancient families of wizardry!'

Hander flinched in his seat when Strosslink spat out the final word.

'Wizardry? As in magic and enchantments?'

Strosslink stared at him, his eyes red-hot coals.

'_Reducto, reducto_!' he muttered furiously under his breath.

But nothing happened.

Hander looked at Strosslink with a shocked expression. Then he looked back at his book.

'Okay Mr. Strosslink, can you please tell me the name of the current Prime Minister?'

This confused Strosslink. 'What? Who? Prime somebody?'

'The name of the current Prime Minister,' Hander pushed.

'What? Do you mean the Minister for Magic?'

Hander's expression suddenly changed. He fixed Strosslink with a very knowing eye.

'Magic again, eh?'

There was silence.

'And you believe in these things, do you, Mr. Strosslink?'

At this final ridiculous question Strosslink lost his usually-concealed temper.

'_Crucio_!' he screamed. '_Crucio_! _Alohomora_! _Imperio_!'

But still nothing happened. Hander frowned at the struggling soul before him the way one frowns at a cup of tea left to go cold. Unfortunate, but not particularly significant.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Verret Comes To Aid

'Aeneas!' came the whisper.

Strosslink was barely awake, in a semi-conscious stupor that the Muggles had inflicted on him with their needles. It was not sleep, far from it. They had merely rendered him unaware and mentally sluggish.

'Aeneas Strosslink!' the visitor was not bothered with whispering any more.

This woke Strosslink with a start.

'Verret?' he asked vaguely.

'That's my name, don't wear it out!' replied Verret.

There was a silent pause as Strosslink desperately tried to arrange his thoughts into some kind of coherent order.

'What hospital is this? St Mungo's?' he asked.

'No, no, no,' Verret shook his head. 'I suppose that's the morphine. Let me help you there.'

He waved his wand at a suspicious-looking tube stuck into Strosslink's arm. It withdrew itself and trickled clear liquid onto the floor.

Within moments Strosslink felt an enormous pain swell up in him, in his leg and his shoulder. He could not suppress a moan.

'And drink this…' Verret offered a small bottle of potion to Strosslink's lips.

The pain disappeared again almost immediately, but Strosslink no longer felt lethargic.

'What are you doing here?' he demanded of Verret.

'Saving you is what I'm doing,' came the sullen reply.

'Well get me out of here then!'

'Sorry, can't. I've been told you're to be left here until you're healed up. As punishment for getting here in the first place.'

He reached into his and drew out a thin rod.

'Alright, give me my wand,' demanded Strosslink.

But Verret merely placed in on same table as the strange contraption that Officer Drodes had kept tapping.

'That's it? "Give me my wand." No thanks or anything? Do you know how difficult it was for me to get that wand from the police station? I had to knock out three video cameras! And no one can just explain that sort of thing away, that door was triple-bolted. There'll be some sort of investigation, I'm sure.'

'Vedo camerars?'

'Don't worry. Hey, while I was getting up here I printed your medical record off of the computer. Don't worry what that means either. But…'

Verret flourished a piece of paper in front of Strosslink.

'You were shot twice by policemen. Using guns.'

Strosslink gaped at Verret in confusion.

'I'll explain. You see, obviously Muggles can't use magic. So instead of being able to hurt someone in the conventional way, they've gone and invented things like guns, that, instead of firing curses at people, actually shoot a tiny lump of metal at people.'

'And that is what hit me?'

'Yep. No magic in those tiny lumps of metal, so that's why most charms don't work. And now you've got two tiny lumps of metal stuck inside you, and it appears that the doctors here haven't taken them out for you. I think that it's possible for them to, but effectively they don't know your next of kin and they aren't going to do it if they aren't going to get paid for it. Welcome to the Muggle world.'

_That you know so much about_, Strosslink sneered silently. Verret noticed.

'But we've taken care of all that for you,' smiled Verret. 'That potion you've just drunk should heal you up nicely. When you have the strength of course, you'll be able to get your wand and Disapparate right out of here. But you've been warned, no extracurricular activities, alright? You leave as soon as you're able. That should be about morning.'

'That's not fair! Let me out of this primitive place!'

But Verret at that exact moment had drawn out his wand again and Disapparated from the room.

'Barbarian! Useless creature!' ranted Strosslink at the empty air. 'Muggle!'

Officer Drodes strode in through the door, followed by a worried-looking older Muggle dressed in white.

'Oi!' snarled Officer Drodes. 'Stop yelling, you looney!'

'He's got the drip out!' exclaimed the worried-looking Muggle, shocked.

'Well put it back in and stop him yelling!' Officer Drodes rounded on him.

'I'm a Strosslink! You can't do this to me, you lousy Mudblood!' screamed Strosslink; a quiet voice noting at the back of his mind that he'd never behaved like this in his entire life. The yelling, though, drowned the voice out.

'I've got a tranquilliser! I think I might have to use it!' exclaimed the worried-looking Muggle.

'Just stop him yelling!' snarled Officer Drodes again.

'I'm going to make sure you're brought up on this, Verret!' screamed Strosslink, as he felt a sharp sting in his arm, from the side that the worried-looking Muggle was standing. Strosslink's head twisted to the left, as the muscles in his neck refused to keep holding it up. As Strosslink felt all the different parts of his body follow suit, he stared with unfocussed eyes at the Muggle, dressed in his white coat, fearful expression on his face, hands clutching tightly the needle that he had stabbed into the wizard's arm.

Strosslink again felt himself rise from a stupor as the morning light shone in through the room's windows, his consciousness and his mind gradually returning to him.

And it was not the only force that Strosslink could feel coming back. He smiled as he felt the familiar warmth within himself; his own power.

'_Accio_ wand!' he whispered so softly that it was almost inaudible.

His wand, fortunate he was that neither Officer Drodes nor the worried-looking Muggle had noticed it and stolen it again, flew back into his hand, where it belonged.

Strosslink's smile turned into a grin.

'_Alohomora_!' he whispered.

The chains all unlocked simultaneously. Strosslink also Banished away the tube that had been stuck back into his arm.

Strosslink stood up. He hadn't realised what he'd been wearing. It was like a white sheet, with the back missing from it as well. Strosslink spent a few moments calmly Transfiguring the garments into an appropriate-looking set of black robes, with proper black boots. Then, smiling, he stood stock-straight and pointed his wand at the closed door.

'_Reducto!_' he shouted.

The door instantly buckled outwards and collided with the wall across from it. Strosslink strode out through the hole that he had created, his smile widening.

The worried-looking Muggle that had stabbed Strosslink with the needle the previous night happened to be there in the hallway. Strosslink considered this quite fortunate; it saved him the trouble of searching out the Muggle himself.

'_Levicorpus_!' he laughed.

The worried-looking Muggle's body leapt up into the air, hovering. Strosslink would leave him there for the time being; he was harmless for the moment. But where was the Muggle, Officer Drodes?

The Muggle that had been sitting in a chair outside Strosslink's room was dressed exactly like Officer Drodes, but it was very obviously not he. The explosion had knocked him from his seat and pushed him along the shiny floor. Still, he was clutching another of the strange-looking wands in his hand, and Strosslink now had developed a wariness of these things that Verret had called guns.

'_Expelliarmus_!' he incanted, pointing his wand at Officer Drode's kinsman.

The Muggle fell backwards onto the floor again, and the gun went skittering down the hallway.

Strosslink walked over to his victim, lying prostrate on the floor. Another well-built Muggle, he surmised; he was quite strong-looking.

Strosslink pointed his wand straight down at the Muggle's chest. He decided to use a spell that he'd learned from a friend in the Death Eaters, but didn't have the opportunity to use very often.

'_Sectumsempra_-' he'd begun, when he heard another explosion, much smaller, but far more dangerous to him.

Down at the other end of the hallway, a woman dressed in white had picked up the Muggle's gun and was trying to use it on Strosslink.

With Strosslink's concentration gone, the worried-looking Muggle fell to the ground behind him with a loud _thud_. The _thud_ was echoed by a second explosion and then by a sharp _crack_ as the wizard Disapparated.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Showing Up For Verret

Strosslink Apparated down the road from Verret's hideout. This was way outside of the denser Muggle housing districts, rather, a rural area surrounded by open farmland. Verret's hideout was the only building in sight. Strosslink preferred it out here, there wasn't any people, wizards or otherwise, bustling about incessantly, trying to do whatever pointless task they had turned themselves to.

The building was known to the local members as "Verret's hideout", even though many other Death Eaters frequently passed through there. Verret apparently also owned some other houses in and around major Muggle towns, using his apparently large inheritance from his Muggle father to keep close to his birth-people. Obviously the Dark Lord did not know about that.

Strosslink considered reporting him to one of his superiors, but immediately decided against it. That would be classed as a vendetta within the Death Eaters, and Strosslink did not know what that would cause. Perhaps a duel between the two wizards, which would cost Strosslink his imminent promotion.

Strosslink had no doubt that he could defeat Verret in a duel, as he, heir to the Strosslink family, was far more noble and powerful than his Mudblood counterpart. Verret would be a far weaker dueller, being of impure, common lineage.

Strosslink walked down towards Verret's hideout. No tattletale report to his superiors. No formal duel. He could wait. He was proven to be very patient. And when that promotion finally came through and Strosslink made himself one of the most trusted lieutenants and confidants of the Dark Lord, as he intended to be, then, without any hint of prejudice or vendetta, he would deal with Verret, perfectly legitimately. The half-Muggle should have known full well how foolish it was to disrespect someone that was far superior to his bloodline.

Verret's hideout was almost a dive, small, rickety-looking. Strosslink tapped on the front door of the house. Verret's voice called out for whomever it was that was visiting to let themselves in. Strosslink waited until the other wizard actually came and opened the door for him. He wasn't about to be friendly to Verret.

'Ah-hah, I see you've recovered,' Verret smirked. Verret had an unconscious habit of smirking almost all of the time. It was infuriating for Strosslink to be smirked at by a such a lowly, ignoble wizard. The man simply did not know his place in society, especially in the Death Eaters.

'I'm free of that Muggle-infested pit,' replied Strosslink, 'even with the minimal amount of assistance possible given to me by you.'

'Hey, I gave you that potion, didn't I?' Verret snapped back. 'And you were the one careless enough to get yourself arrested in the first place!'

Strosslink shrugged theatrically. 'It was an accident. It wasn't my fault.'

Verret shook his head at Strosslink. 'Temery and I thought otherwise,' he said, after a pause.

'Temery?' Strosslink asked. 'What's Temery got to do with this?'

He glared at Verret.

'More importantly, why did you think that you could leave me chained up in that room? Where was your sense of duty to other Death Eaters?'

Verret stepped back two paces, holding his hands up in the air, palms forward.

'Hey, that wasn't my decision. That came from people superior to me.'

_Every true wizard is superior to you_, thought Strosslink, _it's just that you don't realise it_.

'That was the order,' continued Verret quickly. 'It was a disciplinary action. I mean, it took months to find out where Edwina Yolk lived. She was a valuable source, the Dark Lord really could have used any of her information…'

These words shocked Strosslink. _A disciplinary action? His superiors had ordered that he should be punished?_

'And that Invisibility Cloak, completely turned into ashes, those things aren't common, you know…'

_But who gave the order? Was it Temery? Temery, after all, is Verret's superior. And Temery's never appreciated the Strosslink name either._

'Not to mention all the fluster you caused among the Muggles when you got arrested. Luckily I don't think you're enough to make them suspicious, but I myself had to do all the work, getting you out of that hospital without making too much fuss! I hope that you didn't do anything extreme after I went?'

Verret had changed feet and rounded on Strosslink.

'Did you do something on your way out of the hospital?' he demanded.

'Was it Temery that gave you the order?' asked Strosslink quietly.

'Yes, but-' Verret began to speak, but Strosslink interrupted him.

'And I bet you were all to happy to carry them out, weren't you?' Strosslink screamed at Verret. 'I bet that you were there, advising Temery, when he gave the order, too! You would have been there, making sure that I looked bad, you sneaky, slimy little Mudblood!'

Verret gasped and stepped backwards, incredulous.

'Yes, I know what you are, Verret,' continued Strosslink, seeing that he had the upper hand. 'Even if Temery doesn't. But, I suppose, one letter and that all could change…'

Verret didn't accept the threat. His gaping mouth clamped shut.

'And what do you presume would happen then, Aeneas?' he asked peevishly. 'A scandal? I'd be demoted? Or maybe even forced to leave the Death Eaters?'

Strosslink was astounded by Verret's response, but didn't let it show. He didn't reply. He didn't even breathe.

'Well,' Verret continued, 'I think not. Temery wouldn't do anything. In fact, he already knows. He always says that I'm a far greater wizard than you, even with my Muggle mother. That's why he recommended me for promotion, Aeneas, rather than you.'

Strosslink still didn't breathe.

'And oh, weren't you important enough to know?' Verret mocked, with a cocky smirk, 'Even the Dark Lord himself has Muggle blood.'

Strosslink took one deep breath. The expression on his face told Verret that his last comment was a very big mistake.

'_Crucio_!' screamed Strosslink.

The spell launched at Verret, tearing through the other wizard's Protection Spell, and hit him with full force. Verret tumbled over a bookcase and across, the floor, in too much pain to even make a sound. His body twitched all and his mouth was stretched open in a soundless scream. His arms and legs jerked about uselessly.

Strosslink sidestepped to get a better wand angle at Verret, as he lay there on the floor, his back arching out.

'How dare you spread vicious rumours about the Dark Lord? _Crucio_!'

Strosslink stopped the curse and walked around the bookcase to stand over Verret. He was ever so smug, but he was obviously no match for a true wizard like Strosslink.

'Is it to make yourself look good? Further your own goals? Is that what it is?' he asked Verret, not expecting an answer.

Instead, he moved. It was more than a twitch. Strosslink realised that Verret was still clutching his wand. He moved as well.

'_Protecto_!' said Verret.

'_Crucio_!' shouted Strosslink.

The Protection Spell was again too weak to block Strosslink's well-practised Cruciatus Curse. Verret felt the full force of it again. He dropped the wand.

Strosslink stopped the curse and expertly kicked it away.

'How did… how did you?' asked Verret.

'Skill at curses, Verret, can break a flimsy Protection Spell.'

Strosslink was about to use the Cruciatus Curse again when he heard heavy fists and frantic shouting at the door of Verret's hideout.

Those were the Death Eaters. Now was the time to run.


End file.
